Employee Wellness Newsletter : Corporate Wellness Programs: What Can Employers Do to Encourage Healthy Eating and Active Living for Workers?

In today’s corporation environment, the health of staff members is often related to the health of the corporation. Increased job satisfaction, improved morale, reduced illness and injuries, and increased work rate are just some of the benefits of having healthy staff members. Promoting health in your workplace need not be complicated, expensive or time-consuming. Any corporation, large or small, can encourage healthy eating and active living in the workplace. Here are some recommendations:

Healthier Eating

• For breakfast gatherings, rather than serving donuts, sizable muffins, cookies, tea and coffee with cream and sugar, offer healthier alternatives such as bagels, small muffins, fresh fruit, water, 100 percent fruit juice and milk with coffee and tea.
• For lunch meetings, avert serving chips, fried foods, rich pastas, and salads loaded with dressing. Instead, offer sandwiches, bagels, whole grain low fat crackers and cheese, 100  percent fruit juice, water, salads with dressing on the side, vegetable and fruit trays.
• Reimburse staff members staff members for items purchased to improve their health (e.g. healthy eating cookbooks, consultation with a Registered Dietitian).
• Arrange for the cafeteria or food vendors to offer healthy food choices.
• Arrange to have healthy choices like bottled water, 100% fruit juice, fruit bars, and raisins available in snack machines.
• Provide a means for people to share healthy recipes with each other (for example, posting recipes on the Intranet, on posters or by e-mail).

Active Living

• Establish events and group activities to promote employees to become active, such as walking programs, contests and challenge activities, stretch breaks, group sports or participation in local or provincial activities.
• Offer on-Site health professionals (e.g. personal trainers, fitness instructors) or incorporate this service in EAPs to help workers work towards physical activity objectives.
• Offer a supportive environment in the workplace that makes healthy choices easy: bike racks, shower facilities, clean, safe and accessible stairways, walking or running routes in the vicinity of the workplace, and gym facilities.
• Provide|Offer|Give} flex time so that employees have more opportunities to participate in physical activity programs as part of their working day.
• Reimburse gym membership fees, fitness class registrations, and fitness equipment purchases.
• Offer corporate health club memberships to lower costs of individual memberships.

Keeping It Fresh!

Find a champion to:

• Establish lunch ‘n learn sessions to support information and motivation for healthy eating and active living.
• Invite demonstrators to offer cooking lessons or tips for making healthy foods.
• Display a list of local restaurants that offer healthy diet choices on their menus.
• Distribute information to educate staff members on portion sizes.
• Include physical activity and nutrition information in newsletters, pay check inserts, bulletin boards or e-mails.
• Establish activities that reward healthy eating and physical activity. For example, begin a year-round lunch-time walking club, and special activities